he cut short his vacation in hawaii to restart negotiations with republicans in congress. before christmas, the president called for bipartisan cooperation. >> now is not the time for more self-inflicted wounds, certainly not those coming from washington. >> analysts say failure to reach a deal with poison u.s. consumer spending. the fiscal cliff would trigger tax increases and government spending cuts in january, leaving far less money in the economy. the international monetary fund warrants of knock on effects for the global economy. -- warns of knock on effects for the global economy. the pressure is on in washington to agree on a plan. only then might the applause on wall street be a little more genuine. >> with the clock ticking ever more loudly in washington, let's bring in our correspondent. first off, are the prospects of an agreement as dim as we are hearing, or could there be a last-minute deal? then of course this could happen, but i think it is quite unlikely. there is an increased pessimism that a deal can be achieved in washington, d.c. from my perspective, i